Giants Lose Bryce Harper Sweepstakes As Superstar Slugger Signs With Phillies
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS13/CBS Sports) - Arguably the best free agent of the last 18 years has a new team. Bryce Harper has agreed to a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, Jon Heyman reports. CBS Sports HQ baseball insider Jim Bowden confirms the report and adds that the deal is worth $330 million, breaking Giancarlo Stanton's record $325 million contract he signed with the Marlins in November of 2014.
Harper, 26, authored a .249/.393/.496 (133 OPS+) batting line with 34 home runs and an MLB best 130 walks last season. Sketchy defense dragged his overall production down to 1.3 WAR, though the poor defensive ratings are an outlier compared to the rest of his career. He consistently rated as an average or better defender prior to 2018.
As recently as 2017, Harper was a .319/.413/.595 (156 OPS+) hitter who amassed 29 homers and 4.7 WAR in 111 games around a fluke knee injury suffered when he slipped on a wet base. He has hit .267/.391/.505 (133 OPS+) in 417 games since his MVP season in 2015, and he has averaged 32 homers and 4.8 WAR per 162 games in his career.
Harper had met several times with San Francisco Giants representatives as part of his search for a new team. The Giants were reportedly discussing deals of at least 10 years for Harper.
